tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post6358151334496236085..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: A culture of non-violencekatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-69870353659296054192008-10-28T12:57:00.000+13:002008-10-28T12:57:00.000+13:00So rothko if you are ruling out any involvement by...So rothko if you are ruling out any involvement by the state what do you suggest?<BR/><BR/>It seems to me any changes to "our fragmented society" are going to come about by people working together. The democratic institution we have that should be a good avenue for finding and delivering collective solutions is Government. But you seem to be rejecting that as a possibility?Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-90453627950305084132008-10-28T11:24:00.000+13:002008-10-28T11:24:00.000+13:00The folks in gov't don't care about us, they care ...The folks in gov't don't care about us, they care about power. Lobbying them to intervene in the lives of other people's kids... well, there's an even greater evil because it's exactly the kind of power they relish.<BR/><BR/>kids know who they trust and feel safe with, be they teachers or parents. If no-one will have them and they end up living under the bridge, that's our fault for being a fragmented society.<BR/><BR/>Officialdom and state intervention adds little of value to the lives of children and cannot compensate for our reluctance to take control of our kids' futures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-53747016740680801642008-07-04T08:44:00.000+12:002008-07-04T08:44:00.000+12:00Interesting thoughts, Ari. I'm not as committed t...Interesting thoughts, Ari. I'm not as committed to free speech as you are, I have to admit - but that's a blog for another day! I worry that, as in this case, expressing opinions becomes a form of bullying.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-32451555462023488212008-07-03T23:02:00.000+12:002008-07-03T23:02:00.000+12:00George- I think it's important these people have a...George- I think it's important these people have a voice, and I'm actually very supportive that minority views are covered on the internet and on the news. What I think is stupid is that the news is making their voice look more salient than it is by not covering their more unpleasant beliefs and actions, and by giving lobby groups equal billing with respected community leaders like Cindy Kiro.<BR/><BR/>Ridiculous beliefs should be allowed to speak for themselves- and implying that parents and teachers need to use violence to stop violence when they are already bigger and much more socially powerful than children is at best stupid.<BR/><BR/>It wasn't the cane that stopped them, it was the fear of consequences. And there are consequences that matter other than physical pain- otherwise, why would they care about being prevented from beating kids? It doesn't hurt <EM>them</EM> not to beat their kids ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-2421267192519135472008-07-03T20:44:00.000+12:002008-07-03T20:44:00.000+12:00You're right George - doesn't the Bible say 'The s...You're right George - doesn't the Bible say 'The stupid will always be with us' or something like that?! <BR/><BR/>Stupidity is certainly behind a lot of the dislike of Kiro, but I feel as though the likes of Family First who are more calcuating than stupid actually put out a lot of similar hateful ideas - they just phrase them in a more palatable way. At the risk of sounding like the nutty radical feminist I clearly am, I think our fundamentalist chums like families to be headed by patriarchs in true Old Testament style, with men using force to call the shots if needs be. <BR/><BR/>Sadly, I can't get your link to open...Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-15769381954722657422008-07-03T20:03:00.000+12:002008-07-03T20:03:00.000+12:00I get the feeling that there have always been stup...I get the feeling that there have always been stupid people - but that the combined effect of dumbing down of the media and the internet has given these people more voice than they would otherwise have had. Just like talkback did in the 1980s.<BR/><BR/>I thought this was an interesting contribution - <BR/>http://www.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/anti-smacking-ad_lg.gifGZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07756723544792981390noreply@blogger.com